Hello and welcome back to Chasing Excellence to a special bonus episode of Chasing Excellence. My name is Patrick Cummings here by myself this time around. I've mentioned a few times on the podcast already in the last few weeks that I wrote a book, a kid's book called The ABCs of Being Happy and Healthy, 26 little lessons for kids who want to grow up to be super wonderful.

I had a few fantastic humans reach out and say,

hey, are you going to do an audio book or something?

And the book is very short.

It's for kids.

So I'm not going to do a full audio book, but I did think,

well, I could record it and I could share it here on the Chasing Excellence feed. So that's what we've got.

Here is the ABCs of being happy and healthy. Enjoy.

A is for attitude. That thing that you bring into every room, every day, and everything.

It can feel like a backpack full of big rocks or tiny rockets glued to your

favorite socks. What most never learn is that you get to pick, whether your attitude will

help you soar or sink. B is for bravery. That far too rare thing, we think only for soldiers

or singers who sing.

But you can be brave in an everyday way by not letting mosquitoes of fear scare you away.

Just ignore the buzz and their little bug bites, and soon you'll carry yourself to all new

high heights.

C stands for Curious, which means to explore when most others rush by never wondering more.

It's asking what if and why not and how come.

It's knowing the questions reveal all of the fun.

Just slow yourself down, tilt your head ever so, and then watch curiosity light up the road.

D is for Determined, something you become by taking a few breaths when you much rather run.

A determined person is a big tall tree standing strong in a storm of doubt, wind, and worry.

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